Leadership
Contexture’s executive leadership team, led by CEO Melissa Kotrys, is made up of seasoned executives from Arizona and Colorado. Our board of directors and advisory councils represent a diverse network of healthcare organizations in both states.
Executive Team
Melissa A. Kotrys, MPH
Chief Executive Officer
Expertise: Health policy, health information exchange, social determinants of health and interoperability
Melissa A. Kotrys, MPH
Through Melissa’s vision and leadership, Contexture is celebrated as a collaborative partner of hospitals and health systems, health plans, healthcare providers, healthcare associations and other stakeholders.
In 2007, Melissa joined Arizona Health-e Connection (AzHeC) as an associate director before assuming the role of CEO in 2010. In 2014, AzHeC merged with the statewide HIE, Health Information Network of Arizona (HINAz) and in 2017, the organization became Health Current. In 2020, Health Current announced it would join CORHIO, the largest Colorado HIE, forming the regional HIE Contexture in 2021.
Prior to joining Contexture, Melissa worked as a consultant and health policy analyst at Deloitte Consulting. She holds a Master of Public Health in health policy from The George Washington University and Bachelor of Arts from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Melissa serves on many boards and advisory councils, most notably on the Board of Civitas Networks for Health — a national collaborative of HIEs and other health data stakeholders. Melissa serves as a Civitas Networks for Health board member and was the inaugural board chair from 2021 to 2023. She also serves as a member of the Consortium for State and Regional Interoperability (CSRI) Board of Directors, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Americas Advisory Board, the Employers Council Board of Directors, the Arizona State Medicaid Advisory Committee and the Advisory Council of Solari Crisis & Human Services.
Melissa enjoys spending time with her family, especially on off-road and fishing adventures throughout Arizona, and keeps an impressive catalog of those memories thanks to her love of photography.
Scott Bennett
Chief Legal Officer & Privacy Officer
Expertise: Compliance, privacy, healthcare, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence law
Scott Bennett
As Chief Legal Officer, Scott Bennett leads the team that provides legal guidance and support to Contexture and oversees the organization’s compliance program.
Before joining Contexture, Scott was a partner at the Phoenix law firm Coppersmith Brockelman. In private practice, Scott helped hospitals, healthcare providers and health technology companies navigate a variety of legal issues, including U.S. and international privacy laws; data breaches; government investigations; litigation; and healthcare-specific laws and regulations like the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute.
Scott has earned certifications in both U.S. and European privacy law from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (CIPP/US and CIPP/E).
Scott received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arizona State University. (Go Devils!)
Outside of work, you are most likely to find Scott hiking on a Phoenix trail, camping in the woods or baking in his kitchen (his specialty is macarons).
Sharon Burdett
Chief Human Resource Officer
Expertise: Corporate communications, recruiting, onboarding and training
Sharon Burdett
Overseeing the administrative, recruitment, onboarding and training aspects of Contexture, Sharon Burdett helps ensure that the organization’s culture aligns with its values.
As a member of the executive leadership team, she helped navigate the merger of Colorado-based CORHIO and Arizona-based Health Current to form Contexture in 2021. The merger created the largest health information exchange in the western United States.
Sharon joined Health Current in 2011 as chief financial officer when the company was known as Arizona Health-e Connection (AzHeC). Sharon earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting and finance from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Prior to joining AzHeC, Sharon was the president of Independent Hydro Developers, an independently owned corporation that developed, owned and operated hydroelectric facilities.
After hours, Sharon enjoys camping and fishing with her family. She also restores classic automobiles with her husband. Their collection includes a 1966 Ford Mustang, a 1930 Ford Model A, a 1956 Nomad wagon and a few other “works in progress.”
Tina Hogeman
Chief Financial Officer
Expertise: Fiscal management, risk management and business strategy
Tina Hogeman
Tina Hogeman is responsible for Contexture’s financial strategy and for managing Contexture’s financial risk. She leads a team that guides Contexture’s financial planning and analysis, accounting operations, banking and investments, and contract lifecycle management.
Tina has nearly 10 years of experience in both large national and small local public accounting firms. She boasts seven years as a hospital controller and even started her own small firm to follow her passion for providing physician practices with comprehensive accounting, tax, consulting and business planning solutions. Over the course of her 20+working years, she has provided services to the healthcare industry in the following areas: strategic planning, practice profitability analysis, new practice set-up, fraud and embezzlement review and analysis, practice management, structuring shareholder compensations agreements, structuring buy/sell arrangements, retirement plan evaluation, business valuations, accounting system implementation, accounts receivable management, medical practice turnarounds, personal tax planning, business tax planning and contract compliance testing
Matthew Isiogu
Chief Growth Officer
Expertise: Health policy and finance, data analytics, strategic planning, legislation and regulation
Matthew Isiogu
Matthew Isiogu leads Contexture’s initiatives to develop breakthrough innovations and business strategies that leverage data and technology to support value-based care, advance health equity and control costs.
In a variety of public administration and healthcare management roles, he’s led strategic planning and financial management for organizations adapting to growth and change, including during the Great Recession, implementing the Affordable Care Act and responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Before joining Contexture in 2021, Matthew served as assistant director for finance and data at the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona’s Medicaid agency serving 2.2 million members with an annual budget of $18 billion. At AHCCCS, he oversaw actuarial analysis, data analytics, reimbursement rates and budget. Previously, Matthew managed human services programs at the Arizona Department of Economic Security. In Michigan, he served in the governor’s State Budget Office and as assistant to the chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission.
Matthew is a 2016 Fellow of the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy. He received his Bachelor of Arts in political theory and social policy from James Madison College at Michigan State University. His volunteer work includes project coaching for fellows from Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Togo and Zambia through the Mandela Washington Fellowship program.
He enjoys hosting murder mystery parties with his wife, who is also his high school sweetheart.
Kelly Joines
Chief Strategy Officer
Expertise: Operations management, IT strategy, healthcare and enterprise architecture
Kelly Joines
Kelly Joines is responsible for furthering the overall vision and mission of the company, focusing on conceptualizing and formulating strategic initiatives that further that mission and make sure that the day-to-day activities of the company support those initiatives.
She ventured into CORHIO, Colorado’s largest HIE, during its 2009 inception, driving IT operations and becoming the chief information officer. She eventually assumed the role of CORHIO’s chief strategy officer, with the goal of improving healthcare in Colorado through HIE. After a decade of consistent growth, CORHIO announced plans to merge with Health Current, Arizona’s HIE, forming the regional organization Contexture in 2021, with Kelly leading the merger integration activities. As chief strategy officer, she serves on Contexture’s executive leadership team.
Prior to CORHIO/Contexture, Kelly worked as an IT and management consultant. She has considerable systems development, implementation and operations experience across multiple industries, as well as large scale IT project and program management expertise. Kelly received her Bachelor of Science in information systems from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Her extracurricular activities include gardening, hiking, paddleboarding, yoga and world travel with her husband. She’s a devout foodie and speaks fluent German.
Marc Lassaux
Chief Solution Officer
Expertise: Health data exchange, health information technology infrastructure and architecture, community-based data sharing and community resource networks
Marc Lassaux
Marc Lassaux is the Executive Director & CEO at QHN. He enjoys helping lead the team into a new era of health data exchange as we provide and expand solutions to connect people and information for better health.
In his previous role at QHN as Chief Technology Officer, Marc worked on planning for technology infrastructure and architecture, enabling innovation, and understanding the health information technology solutions that create business value. He helped QHN utilize advanced technology to facilitate community-based data sharing and community resource networks, enable innovative risk stratification/predictive modeling tools and support new payment models.
Marc previously served on the Colorado eHealth Commission with an appointment by Governor Hickenlooper. Marc was also the Technical Director for The Colorado Beacon Consortium and has served in chairing roles for an Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Community of Practice and a Colorado State Innovation Model (SIM) workgroup.
Marc and his wife Nikki moved to Grand Junction in 2005 to raise their two now teenage boys. They love to hike and explore and especially enjoy flying through the canyons of the Colorado Plateau.
Deanna Towne
Chief Information Officer
Expertise: Health IT, strategic planning, security risk assessments, capabilities-based planning, data security, project management, executive IT leadership
Deanna Towne
Deanna Towne oversees Contexture’s team of information technology professionals, as well as the development of new products to meet the needs of the Colorado and Arizona healthcare communities. All of Contexture’s vast IT functions fall within the CIO’s purview -- including network support, security, system administration, server management, data management, development, project implementation and management, and security. She oversees all IT systems required to support Contextures’ objectives and goals, as well as leads the digital transformation of the organization.
She joined CORHIO, Colorado’s largest health information exchange, as CIO in 2019. In 2021, CORHIO formalized a merger with Health Current, Arizona’s HIE, to become Contexture and Deanna assumed the CIO role for the larger organization.
Prior to Contexture, Deanna was the deputy chief customer officer and IT director for the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology. She has also served as the budget director for the Colorado Department of Revenue and the deputy director of the Colorado Governor’s Office of Homeland Security.
Deanna received her MBA and a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree from Regis University in economics and politics. She also graduated from the Executive Leaders Program for the Center of Homeland Defense and Security and completed coursework for a Certificate in Public Administration from the University of Colorado. She’s also an EMC Certified Expert Cloud Architect and brings Lean/Six Sigma training to her role.
She resides in Castle Rock, Colorado, with her husband, Marc, and young son. In her free time, she loves being outside and spending time with family, including a family dinner every Sunday night. In August 2022, Deanna was honored as CIO of the Year in the Corporate category of the ORBIE awards.
Vice Presidents
Alfritch Anderson Jr
Security
Alex Demyan
Government Affairs – AZ
Alaina Desnoyers
Business Development
Brittany Dettler
Solution and Market Development
Glenn Fuss
Human Resources
Lauren Girard
Data Management
Dayton Harbo
Deputy Chief Information Officer
Micah Jones
Compliance & In-House Counsel
Janeece Lawrence
Project Management Office
Erik Meredith
Application Development & Support
Catelyn Nguyen
Customer Operations & Service Management
Kelly Procopio
Contracts & Grants Administration
Ako Quammie
Business Analysis
Jackie Sievers
Social Determinates of Health (SDOH)
Holly Swierenga
Accounting
Myriah Vandre
Integration
Brian Van Sickle
Infrastructure & Quality Assurance
Kristin Weissinger
External Affairs
Board of Directors
Joe Adragna, MD
President, Peak Family Medicine
Joe Adragna, MD
Dr. Joe is the President and Founder of Peak Family Medicine. Dr. Joe knew early on that Family Medicine, in which the doctor sees every kind of problem and person, was his calling. At the age of thirteen, Joe was already working as a hospital volunteer in the Montrose Memorial Hospital lab, learning as much about medicine as he could. After graduating from Montrose High School, he worked as an EMT while in college and during his residency at the University of Colorado, on his few days off, he would moonlight at other hospitals, always planning for the future.
Dr. Adragna is committed to helping people stay healthy, avoiding emergency room and hospital stays, allowing easy access to care, and providing office hours that are convenient for working people and those with children in school. His medical areas of interest include: Musculoskeletal medicine (arthritis treatment), primary care, cardiology, and systems integration and innovation.
Today, Peak Family Medicine has 9 providers and 23 total QHN users and has 11,462 queries in QHN Results in the last 12 months. They have sent 28,580 messages and have received 63,455 total messages in the last 12 months. This includes all result types – ADT, Lab, Radiology, Transcription.
Residency: University of ColoradoLorry Bottrill
Division President, Mercy Care
Lorry Bottrill
Lorry has been a leader in Arizona’s healthcare community for more than 30 years. Prior to her role as Division President, Lorry served as Mercy Care’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
Before joining Mercy Care, Lorry was regional finance officer for Health Net of Arizona and held various leadership positions at PacifiCare of Arizona/UnitedHealthcare.
Lorry is a Certified Public Accountant. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arizona. Lorry is the Past President of the Southwest Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and serves as Secretary, Contexture’s Board, Arizona and Colorado’s HIE’s.
In 2023, Lorry was named one of Arizona’s Big 100 Leaders by AZ Big Media and in 2021, Lorry received the Community Lifeline Award from Teen Lifeline.Lesley Brooks, MD
Chief of Addiction Medicine, SummitStone Health Partners
Lesley Brooks, MD
Dr. Lesley Brooks serves as the Chief of Addiction Medicine for SummitStone Health Partners and as the Assistant Medical Director for the North Colorado Health Alliance in northern Colorado. Dr. Brooks, a board-certified family physician, has practiced full-scope family medicine including prenatal care, chronic pain, and substance use disorder/addiction in northern Colorado for more than a decade. Since her transition to SummitStone Health Partners in 2020, she specializes in substance use and mental health. As the Chief of Addiction Medicine at SummitStone, Dr. Brooks leads the design, development and implementation of Larimer County’s Behavioral Health Services facility, which is set to be open in 2023.Pedro Cons
CEO, Adelante Healthcare
Pedro Cons
Pedro Cons is a thoughtful, visionary leader with expertise in strategy and organizational management.
His diverse leadership and academic experience provides a unique perspective for creating strategic partnerships across corporate, nonprofit and government sectors to better integrate the delivery of services and more effectively address the holistic needs of families and create sustainable, positive change.
Named Chief Executive Officer at Adelante Healthcare in June 2020, Pedro Cons now leads a network of nine community health centers which provide primary healthcare to more than 77,000 individuals across Maricopa County.
Before joining Adelante, he spent more than 14 years at Chicanos Por La Causa (also known as CPLC). Most recently, he served as the Executive Vice President of Integrated Health and Human Services, overseeing CPLC’s primary care partnerships, home healthcare program, behavioral health, HIV testing and case management, 340b pharmacy and a host of other programs across Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Other previous roles at CPLC include Vice President of Multi-Family Housing Operations, Vice President of Corporate Strategic Initiatives, Vice President of Human Resources, and Vice President of Recovery and Resiliency.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in social work, a master’s degree in Professional Counseling, and advanced graduate studies in school guidance counseling and marriage, family and child therapy. He has also received training in community mobilization and facilitation methods and has participated in leadership development including the Kellogg Foundation Multicultural Leadership Institute and the Hispanic Leadership Institute.Kevin Fitzgerald, MD
Medical Director, Mesa County Public Health
Kevin Fitzgerald, MD
Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald is the Medical Director for Mesa County Public Health and serves the Western Healthcare Alliance (WHA) as Community Care Alliance Medical Director. Dr. Fitzgerald leads health management strategies including provider engagement and outreach, quality and utilization reporting, aligned incentives and clinical strategies to effectively manage Western ACO’s attributed patient population.
With over 30 years’ experience in medicine and medical administration, Dr. Fitzgerald brings varied experience. From the hands-on practice of medicine and teaching residents and Physician Assistant students to various administration positions from Managed Services Organizations to Health Plan Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer. He has a wealth of understanding of data, process and quality improvement activities, accreditation requirements for NCQA, practice management, IPA/health plan interface, and physician relationships.
Prior to joining Mesa County Public Health and WHA, Dr. Fitzgerald was the Chief Medical Officer for Rocky Mountain Health Plans. His previous experiences include Assistant Director for a Family Medicine Residency and the Medical Director of Colorado for United Healthcare. He was also the first Medical Director for Physician Health Partners, a start- up Managed Services Organization in Denver, eventually taking the role of Vice President of Utilization Management.
These experiences have left Dr. Fitzgerald with a sense that healthcare is best delivered and managed with the strong influence of local control. The nuance of local variation in the delivery system combined with provider professional expertise is paramount to the community and keeping the population close to their personal support systems.
Dr. Fitzgerald was raised in the Denver Metro area. After High School he enlisted in the United States Army, serving as a Fixed Wing Airplane Mechanic/Crew Chief. After his separation from the military, he completed his undergraduate degree in chemistry and math and obtained his Medical Degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Family Medicine at Mercy Hospital in Denver. He remains Board Certified and still practices medicine part time at a local after-hours clinic in Grand Junction. In his free time, he enjoys fly fishing, hunting, camping, travel, playing the guitar, and especially time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Medical Education: Undergraduate degree in chemistry and math and Medical Degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine
Residency: Family Medicine at Mercy Hospital in DenverPatrick Gordon
CEO, Rocky Mountain Health Plans (United)
Patrick Gordon
Patrick Gordon is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP) in Colorado, a UnitedHealthcare Company. Patrick has led reform efforts in the Colorado market for practice transformation, payment reform and technology adoption to help make the healthcare system work better for everyone.
Patrick has been accountable for an array of payment reform, health data exchange and behavioral health services integration initiatives in Western Colorado. He also led the implementation of the Medicaid Accountable Care Collaborative project in western and northern Colorado. Patrick provided oversight of the Medicaid, Full Benefit
Medicare/Medicaid Eligibles, and CHP+ programs supported by the health plan, as well as the CMS Innovation Center’s Comprehensive Primary Care initiative.
Patrick has led several strategic initiatives for RMHP’s stakeholders, including the Colorado Beacon community demonstration, the design and implementation of an aligned payment arrangement with the State of Colorado and physicians to achieve Triple Aim objectives. Further, he served on the Colorado State Innovation Model (SIM) Practice Transformation and Multi-payer Collaborative work groups. Prior to joining RMHP, Patrick held various positions within the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing related to policy development and program management.Patrick Guffey, MD
CMIO, Children’s Hospital Colorado
Patrick Guffey, MD
Patrick Guffey is an associate professor of anesthesiology and practices pediatric and obstetric anesthesia. He’s chief medical information officer at Children's Hospital Colorado, as well as performance improvement and informatics officer at the Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado. Patrick also serves as medical director of perioperative performance improvement and manages the quality programs for Perioperative Services and the Colorado Fetal Care Center.
Patrick is board certified in clinical informatics, the chair of Epic system's steering board for pediatric anesthesiology and president of the Colorado Chapter of the Health Information Management Systems Society. Patrick's work with Epic centers on the use of perioperative protocols to improve safety and outcomes. He also partners with Epic, GE Healthcare, Codonics and Omnicell to improve interoperability and decrease medical errors. Patrick serves as the medical director of the Anesthesia Quality Institute's Patient Safety Organization, where he helped develop the first national specialty specific reporting system for adverse events.
He’s also a member of the Children's Hospital Association's Patient Safety Team. His research interests center on application of the electronic health record and clinical informatics to improve quality, safety and outcomes. Patrick is particularly interested in using Lean principles, informatics and strong safety cultures to drive highly reliable patient care.Carmen Heredia
Cabinet Executive Officer and Executive Deputy Director, AHCCCS
Carmen Heredia
Carmen Heredia serves as the Cabinet Executive Officer and Executive Deputy Director of Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid and CHIP Program, overseeing the provision of acute, behavioral health, and long-term care services; they support more than 2.5 million Arizona residents at an annual cost of $22 billion. Throughout her career, Ms. Heredia has passionately advocated for access to quality health care and education for underserved populations. Directly prior to joining AHCCCS, Ms. Heredia was the CEO of Valle del Sol, a provider organization delivering integrated behavioral health and primary care health as a federally qualified health center and a federally certified community behavioral health center. Ms. Heredia has served on a variety of government task forces and boards, including St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, the Center for the Future of Arizona, the Arizona Alliance of Community Health Centers, National Council of Behavioral Health, the Phoenix Community Development and Investment Corporation, Contexture Health Information Exchange, and the ASU College of Health Solutions. She is a 2021 Virginia G. Piper Fellow and an alum of the Hispanic Leadership Institute. Ms. Heredia holds a master’s degree in social work from Arizona State University with a concentration in planning and administration.Steve Hess
CIO, UCHealth
Steve Hess
Steve Hess is the chief information officer for UCHealth, a nationally recognized nonprofit health care system with operating revenue of $5.4 billion and a workforce of more than 26,000 people. UCHealth includes 12 Colorado hospitals, with about 2,000 inpatient beds and more than 150 clinics in Colorado, southern Wyoming and western Nebraska.
Steve is responsible for the management of information systems across the enterprise, including Epic, an electronic medical record system; The Source, UCHealth’s employee intranet; and My Health Connection, a patient portal.
Previously, Steve was the chief information officer for University of Colorado Hospital, a partner of UCHealth. Prior to joining UCHealth, he was the chief information officer for Christiana Care Health System, one of the country’s largest health care providers.Sheri Jackson
CNO & VP Operations Engineering, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Sheri Jackson
As the chief nursing officer and vice president of clinical quality and wellness, Sheri Jackson serves as the chief adviser within the Health Quality Assurance division for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ). In this role, she develops and implements strategies and policies to ensure continuous quality improvement drives efficient daily operations and lower operating costs.
Sheri provides support to the chief medical officer to plan, coordinate and communicate new strategies, tools and systems that improve and streamline the operations of UM, HEDIS outcomes, medical policy and wellness programs. She has oversight for the quality program and chairs the quality management committee, which provides direction and oversight of the organization’s quality management activities related to clinical and non-clinical services. The committee identifies quality improvement programs that result in measurable outcomes and ensures all activities adhere to regulatory requirements under NCQA or URAC and any requirements as an issuer of Quality Health plans.
Sheri serves as the BCBSAZ representative on the Contexture board of directors to influence decision–making and provide insight about healthcare trends and health plan customer issues and concerns, product development needs and service requirements.
Sheri joined BCBSAZ in 1988 and has held numerous executive roles overseeing healthcare quality, healthcare operations, provider capitation arrangements, value-based care program development and medical policy development during her tenure with the organization.
She earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Minnesota.Bryan Johnson
President, Intermountain Health - St. Mary’s Medical Center
Bryan Johnson
After serving as Chief Operating Officer for three years, Bryan Johnson was named President of St. Mary’s Medical Center on August 9th, 2019. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Intermountain Alta View Hospital in Sandy, Utah. Johnson holds to a strong operational principle of reducing healthcare costs through operational savings, appropriately designated services, and data-driven assessment.
“By using data to drive decisions, rather than decades-old thinking, we are producing tangible cost savings. That’s good for our patients,” he added. His work to strengthen collaborative care and support rural, regional hospitals is another key initiative for Johnson. “St. Mary’s will advance our partnerships with healthcare leaders across our region, even as we help lead the way to improve access and quality for all western Colorado communities,” he concludes.
Johnson and his wife, Trish, are the parents of six active children. They enjoy sports and the abundant outdoor lifestyle of their home in the Grand Valley.
Medical Education: MBA Health Administration, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine; Undergraduate, Brigham Young UniversityDon Kane, DO
CMIO, Dignity Health
Don Kane, DO
Dr. Donald Kane, FAAP, is the chief medical informatics officer for Dignity Health in Arizona and Nevada. In this capacity, he oversees the clinical IT systems used by physicians, advanced practice practitioners, resident physicians and all other clinical staff. Donald is also an assistant professor of clinical informatics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix. His primary board certification is in pediatrics from the American Board of Pediatrics, secondarily certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in clinical informatics.
Donald is a graduate of Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. He completed his training in pediatrics at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. While in clinical practice, he served on active duty in the Air Force for three years at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. After completing his active duty tour, he practiced as a pediatric hospitalist and then as an attending physician in the Pediatric Emergency Department at Tucson Medical Center.
His informatics career began in 2006 when he joined Cerner Corp. He continued that work with Tenet Health and joined Dignity Health in 2015. In Arizona, Donald participates on the clinical advisory board for Contexture and is actively involved in interoperability around HIE technology for Dignity Health.Paula Kautzmann
CIO, Colorado Access
Paula Kautzmann
Paula Kautzmann, chief information officer, is responsible for managing the development and execution of the IT direction of Colorado Access, including providing vision and leadership for corporate IT operations and infrastructure and for developing and implementing an IT strategy that supports company growth and strategic initiatives.
Paula’s experience includes more than two decades in the Medicaid health plan space, where she created and maintained a successful IT program that met the regulatory, financial viability and quality requirements of the plan.
Prior to joining Colorado Access, Paula served as the chief information officer at Upper Peninsula Health Plan in Marquette, Michigan, a company for which she worked for more than 20 years. While there, Paula led all IT operations for the health plan, managed multi-million dollar budgets and created or improved processes that brought great value to the company. As such, Paula was awarded accolades from the board of directors for “Creative and Innovative Use of Technology to Propel Cost-Effective Business Expansion for the Health Plan” during the plan’s formative years. Paula excels at building strong internal and external partnerships and successfully identifies new areas of business expansion leveraging technology solutions.
Paula received her bachelor’s degree in computer network and systems administration from Michigan Technological University.Heidi Kemmer
COO, UHC Community Plan, UnitedHealthcare
Heidi Kemmer
Heidi Kemmer has been the chief operating officer for the United Healthcare Community Plan in Arizona since April 2020. She’s a seasoned managed care executive with over 25 years in the industry, holding a number of positions in network contracting and provider service, operations, and health plan leadership. This includes serving as regional contract and area manager for John Deere Health, vice president of operations and executive director for the UnitedHealthcare Community Plan in Tennessee, national director, community and state provider experience leading several national initiatives impacting provider service and operations; and director, west region operations supporting UnitedHealthcare Community Plans in Hawaii, Washington, California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona with operations oversight and regulatory change management.
She received her bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University in Kansas and a dual-degree master’s in business (MBA) and healthcare administration from the University of Iowa. Heidi is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, is active in her local church and community, and enjoys supporting Arizona sports teams. Heidi and her husband, Karl, have lived in Phoenix since 2014, after relocating from Tennessee.Sophia Meharena, DO
Director of Clinical Outcomes, Every Child Pediatrics
Sophia Meharena, DO
Dr. Meharena has been caring for patients at Every Child Pediatrics since 2011 and sees patients at the Aurora office. She began her role as Director of Clinical Outcomes in May 2020. She recieved her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry from Mount Holyoke College, followed by her medical education at Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. She then completed her residency at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP).Mark Radlauer, MD
CMIO, HCA/HealthOne Continental Division
Mark Radlauer, MD
Dr. Mark Radlauer is a 30-year emergency physician and clinical informaticist. He’s the chief medical information officer for the HCA Continental Division and medical director, informatics, for the 600-member CarePoint provider group.
Mark’s focus is providing clinical perspective and input on various information technology-related programs within HCA regionally and nationally, and driving successful, clinically nuanced implementations. He’s particularly interested in improving and maintaining clinician efficiency, which he feels is a significant quality driver. To achieve this, he strives to collaboratively engage clinicians, IT organizations, business leaders and vendors in the organization’s planning, development, communication and implementation processes.April Rhodes
CEO, Spectrum Healthcare
April Rhodes
April Rhodes, MBA, LAMFT, is president and chief executive officer for Spectrum Healthcare Group. Through statewide community solutions and focused care, April and her team are meeting the whole health needs of Arizona’s populations.
April has served at the forefront of healthcare and human services management for nearly two decades. Her unique brand of leadership has successfully launched whole healthcare delivery into new heights of innovation, defragmentation, integration and cohesion. As CEO, she draws on skillsets of therapy, open communication and business-mindedness, while balancing vision and risk in this ever-changing healthcare landscape. Under her leadership, Spectrum Healthcare Group in Northern Arizona has successfully launched mobile crisis response to law enforcement and first responders in Yavapai County, providing real time mental health intervention to officers in the field.
April attended Arizona State University and received a Bachelor of Science in family and human development and a Master of Advanced Study in marriage and family therapy, with a strong focus on systemic theories and practices. She’s a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and recently completed her MBA at the University of Arizona.
April currently serves as chair for the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers board of directors, Yavapai County Board of Health and the Prevent Child Abuse AZ board of directors. April is considered a subject matter expert on topics relating to leadership, whole person healthcare, value-based purchasing, access to care and community-based services.Alexis Sgouros
VP, Analytics Services and Finance Data & Analytics, Kaiser Permanente
Alexis Sgouros
Alexis Sgouros is vice president of analytics service delivery. He leads the IT organization’s analytics delivery team, which supports enterprise analytic platforms and tools, as well as develops and maintains key data assets for the analytic community. He partners with the health plan and care delivery technology services in engaging with stakeholders across the organization, as well as with the chief data office and digital team to align on data technology strategy for Kaiser Permanente.
Since joining Kaiser Permanente in 2001, Alexis has worked in the Northern California, Southern California and Colorado markets and worked his way up through the organization. His past roles include vice president care delivery analytics and Colorado information officer; executive director for IT service and delivery in the Northern and Southern California regions, where had accountability for all business engagement and operations in the 14 hospital areas in Southern California and the 24 hospitals in Northern California; area technology leader at the San Diego Medical Center; and project manager and programmer within the medical record space.
A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, Alexis spent five years working with biotechnology companies bringing new products to clinical trials and to market prior to joining Kaiser Permanente.
Alexis serves on the advisory council of the Colorado School of Public Health. In his spare time, he enjoys staying active and is an avid runner and cyclist. He's married to Marnie, and they have two children.Mike Stahl
CEO, Hilltop Community Resources
Mike Stahl
Mike has worked in a variety of leadership positions within Hilltop for the past sixteen years. Before Hilltop, he worked five years for NeuroCare in California, in neurobehavioral programs for adults with brain injuries. Mike is a graduate of Grand Junction High School. He has an undergraduate degree from Colorado State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Regis University. Mike started at Hilltop in 1993, coordinating the development of Hilltop’s youth programs.
Mike has been very active in our community, serving on a number of boards including: Grand Junction Economic Partnership, Mesa County Community Corrections, Quality Health Network; Western Health Care Alliance, Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce and Colorado West Mental Health Psychiatric Hospital.
Medical Education: B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry from Mount Holyoke CollegeChris Thomas, FACHE
President and CEO, Community Hospital
Chris Thomas, FACHE
Chris Thomas, FACHE, was named president and CEO of Grand Junction’s Community Hospital in 2008. Prior to joining Community Hospital, Thomas was the executive director and chief administrative officer of ILS Resource Management. Thomas has worked as a healthcare executive for over 20 years. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Chris has been married for more than 25 years and he and his wife have three daughters and a son. They joke that they have a child who graduated in the class of 2013 and one who will graduate in the class of 2031. In his spare time, he and his family enjoy traveling. Most trips are centered on triathlons in different and exciting locations. In May of 2013, Chris and his oldest daughter competed together in the Ironman 70.3 in Mallorca, Spain. The next year, his middle daughter and he competed together in the Ironman 70.3 in Moselle, Luxembourg.
While at Community Hospital, Thomas has helped move the organization out of extreme OIG sanctions to a strong and active part of the western Colorado healthcare community. Revenue has grown significantly during his tenure and Community Hospital has successfully recruited nearly 50 new physicians in just the last three years. In addition, Community Hospital opened a brand new four-story, 142,000 square foot, state-of-the-art hospital in March 2016.
Under Chris’s leadership, Community Hospital was chosen as the Grand Junction Chamber Business of the Year in 2015 and Daily Sentinel readers selected Community Hospital as the “Best of the West” for medical facilities for four consecutive years from 2016-2019.
Medical Education: Master of Business Administration from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
Residency: University of ColoradoBrian Turner
President & CEO, Solvista Behavioral Health
Brian Turner
Brian Turner is the president and chief executive officer for Solvista Health, the nonprofit community mental health center providing integrated mental health, substance use and primary care in Lake, Chaffee, Custer and Fremont counties in Colorado. Prior to this role, Brian served as deputy director for the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, the statewide advocacy organization for community behavioral health, where he directed a range of programs and efforts focused on strengthening services, increasing funding and improving outcomes for behavioral health in Colorado.
He’s dedicated to advancing purpose-driven, nonprofit organizations and initiatives and has held roles as president for the Colorado Public Health Association, director of Mental Health First Aid Colorado and development director for an international NGO working in education.
Born and raised in Colorado, Brian earned his undergraduate degree in business from the University of Colorado – Boulder and a Master’s of Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health – Anschutz. Brian and his wife, Sara, an ICU nurse, are parents to two young adventurers and making the most of living in beautiful Colorado.Chris Underwood
Chief Administrative Officer, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing
Chris Underwood
Chris Underwood serves as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. He joined the department in 2000 as a statistical analyst. During his time with the department, Chris has held leadership positions in various areas, including developing strategies for systems development and operations for client eligibility, healthcare claims processing, and health information technology. Previously, he had oversight of the various safety net programs, and projects to maximize federal Medicaid revenue.Sonny Varadan
CIO, Sonora Quest Laboratories
Sonny Varadan
Sonny Varadan is the Chief Information Officer at Sonora Quest Laboratories, Arizona’s leading provider of diagnostic information services. Mr. Varadan is an established executive with decades of experience leading companies through the monumental opportunity shift technology has created.
As the CIO, Mr. Varadan will meld operations and innovation, while keeping the focus on enhancing the patient experience, making it easier and more convenient for customers to navigate through their journey with Sonora Quest – from scheduling appointments to get their blood drawn, to securely obtaining and understanding their test results on SonoraQuest.com. His focus will be to implement data analytics and machine learning processes to enable decision support systems and automation to assist healthcare providers with population health management for improved patient outcomes.Dr. Michael White
Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Valleywise Health
Dr. Michael White
Michael D. White, MD, currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Valleywise Health in Phoenix, Arizona. Valleywise Health (formerly Maricopa Integrated Health System) has a proud tradition of being both the community safety net health care system, with a mission and commitment to serving the underserved and Arizona’s only public teaching hospital. Valleywise Health consists of Valleywise Health Medical Center, Arizona’s only nationally verified Burn Center serving the entire Southwestern United States, the McDowell Healthcare Center, the largest provider of HIV primary care in Arizona, women’s and pediatric refugee health services, the Arizona Children’s Center, three behavioral health centers, and 12 FQHC sites throughout Maricopa County. Dr. White joined Valleywise health in August 2019.
Advisory Councils
Contexture invites our HIE community and stakeholders to guide and advise on services, policy and programs through an Advisory Council framework. Contexture has these volunteer Advisory Councils at this time: Arizona HIE Advisory Council, Colorado HIE Advisory Council, and the Contexture Policy Advisory Council.
